


The Fallen

by swsithlords



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25804795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swsithlords/pseuds/swsithlords
Summary: When a smuggler and her partner take on a job to find the fallen supreme leader's weapon, they find themselves in a world they never knew existed.
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Original Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. The Rescue

I knew I'd lost them ages ago, the men I stole portions from. I knew there was no reason for me to keep running through these dark, wet woods, jumping over moss covered boulders and old ship parts. If I didn't stop running, basically blind in this darkness, I was liable to fall and injure myself. Of course, what's one more scar? What's one more drop of blood? The thrill of it all outweighed any rational reason to stop. I blame my physical pain for feeding this hunger to keep moving quickly, I blame the way my soul clings to all the bad things and uses it to block any path to something good or beneficial.

"Stupid, stupid boy!" I hear the words shouted, followed by a loud slapping sound. 

My feet stopped moving, causing my body to jolt forward until I was in the mud on one hand and both knees. There was a repetitive sound of fists hitting flesh off in the distance and I turned my head in its direction to listen.

"Hit me back! Fight me!" 

Whoever was shouting seemed angry without reason; I could sense his emotions from where I sat and could feel his hatred but no source to pin it to. As I rose back up to my feet, I tried to hear any movement or response from the victim clearly being beaten, but I heard nothing. I adjusted my broken arm back into it's sling and tightened my bag over my shoulder before walking towards the fight. My hoodie covered most of my face and when I stepped into a clearing, two heads turned in my direction.

A hefty, dirty man had a single fist raised over a dirty, injured boy. I looked briefly at the boy, wincing at the sight of the damage done to his face, then turned my attention to his abuser, "What's this?"

"Who're you?" The man asked and took a step towards me, lowering his hand but still keeping it balled up.

"I'm not sure." I tilted my head, pointed at the boy, "Who's he?"

The man laughed and kicked mud at the boy, "Tell 'em, boy! Who're you?"

The boy just kept his sad eyes on me, tears beginning to pool in them slowly. The man simply continued to laugh like a maniac until he began coughing and spitting bile from his filthy mouth. There was... an odd feeling that started to trinkle in the back of my mind. It was almost like something was trying to get inside of my head.

Then I... heard something. I heard a voice, soft and quiet. It was in my head somehow, this voice that wasn't mine. 

It was telling me to run.

I looked back at the beaten boy, but he turned his head away from me.

"Get off my property." The man finally spoke without choking and snarled, "Or I'll hit you, too."

I pushed my hood off of my head, as if showing him that I'm a woman was really going to make a difference in how he treated me. It actually made his behavior worse, and made his howling laughter louder, but him making a mockery of me simply made my goals for this situation more concrete. 

"I killed... my wife." He sighed, taking another big step in my direction, "You can put your cover back on. A pretty face ain't no good defense against me."

I smiled, shook my head a bit, "You'll have to forgive my lack of interest in your topic of discussion. It's just that your son is a beautiful person with a very strong heart. I'm a bit distracted by him."

Hatred and resent piled up inside of the man as he looked down at his son, "This boy's weak and stupid. He can't even talk!"

There were images that flashed quickly in my mind, playing out a story I wish I never had to know. This man had been beating and abusing his son for years, keeping him alive just so he'd have someone to release his anger out on. The boy had been punched and kicked in his throat so many times, he lost his voice. The oddest thing to learn is that this boy had the ability to end his father's life with the flick of a wrist, but he fought his hatred and pain off - he fought away his darkness to stay true to the light his mother put inside of him.

He is very strong with the Force.

"I don't have the same patience and understanding as you do." I told the boy, responding to the images in my mind. I could only assume he used our shared trait of Force-sensitivity to show me why he was unable to talk. The weird part for me was his ease of responding to me by placing his words in my head. How was he doing this?

And the things he was telling me genuinely bothered me. He was asking me not to kill his father, but I couldn't promise that I wouldn't. I wanted to. He could sense this.

Without warning, or for my lack of giving proper attention, the man unexpectedly threw a punch in my direction. He was almost successful, but I stopped his movements just before his fist met my cheek. I looked him in his eyes as he gasped, trying to break himself out of my hold. 

"Well, that's a neat trick. You look frozen. Where did you learn that?" I asked him and began circling him, keeping my hands behind my back, "Oh, that's right. I'm doing this to you. You're getting cramps in your legs, aren't you? Your head is starting to pound, isn't it? That's also me."

The boy was begging me to let his father go. I would have tried to figure out how to get his voice out of my head, but then I'd lose concentration on my prey. I wanted this man's life - I wanted his blood on my hands. The power I feel in moments like these is indescribable. I can't be beaten.

The man tried to say something to me, but I prevented him from doing anything but blink. 

"Did you know that death feeds life?" I moved my face close to his, "Your death will feed my life, so it won't be in vain."

Another plea from the boy, this one a bit more desperate. I not only heard the plea but I felt the emotion that came with it. I saw myself through this boys eyes, and it was from that visual that I realized I appeared just as monstrous as his father was to him. I winced at the resemblance and released his father. He was gasping dramatically air. I stood over his gross body and frowned, "You are lucky that your son is as beautiful of a soul as he is. If I was your child, your luck would've abandoned you a very long time ago."

The man turned to look up at me, his fear finally making a grand appearance. I waved my hand and watched his head fall into the ground - he was sleeping now. I had to fight my desire to do more damage and it was the most difficult battle I'd ever been in. Fighting off that need and hunger was agonizing.

But the boy gave me his thanks for sparing his father and I turned back around to look at him, his eyes were glancing over my body. Slowly, I crouched down beside him and gently wiped away some of the tears and blood that covered his face. Soon his hand was doing the same to my face, wiping off dirt and sweat. I chuckled when I heard him say that I am almost as frightening as I am beautiful. He made a point to mention that I am definitely terrifying and assured me he was only trying to be complementary.

"You need help... in more ways than one." I said to him and sat down in the mud, "I have a droid on my ship that can see to some of your issues. You should leave this place, come with me. I have nothing to offer you but freedom."

To my complete surprise, he didn't hesitate or seem put off by my offer. The only worry he had was getting to my ship, considering his current weak state. I glanced at his bare arms and the welps that covered them, noticed his bare feet and the cuts that filled his legs. The anger which his physical appearance gave me was loud, yet still, his calming voice was somehow still easy to hear. 

He told me to forgive and forget. He told me it's best to move on.

"You're incredibly good. I typically don't give credit to people for that sort of thing and I go out of my way to never cross paths with them, but you've managed to make room for yourself in my head. I'd call that dedication." I grabbed his hand and helped him sit up. He hung his head and his long, wet hair fell around his face. He wasn't a boy, he was a broken man. I heard him telling me minor details about himself and was shocked to find out he's a few years older than me. Surely that cannot be true, even though I know he's no reason to lie about it.

He never mentioned his name, but asked me for mine.

"I'm Dimley Di'Lora. You can call me Dim. What about you?" I waited to hear his response while I dug through my bag for some cloths to wipe more of his face off with. Even after I found what I needed and began cleaning him, I never heard him give me his name.

That's when I realized that he didn't have one. 

The man began to stir behind me. I raised my hand in his direction without looking at him and blocked air from entering his lungs until he passed out again, then waited a moment to make sure he was still alive before continuing my conversation with his son.

"What do you want me to call you? It can be anything you want, I won't judge." I finished wiping his cheeks and started cleaning his forehead, listening as he debated a name with himself. He questioned what he wanted, mentioning quietly that what he really wanted was to be able to speak to me. "I can hear you. You are speaking to me." Then I stopped wiping him off and tilted my head as I looked at his nearly cleaned face, "Speak... hmm..."

He agreed. For some reason, he agreed. I was mostly joking with the thought of it, but he reacted immediately to the word and seemed open to that being what I called him. It was something he wanted, afterall. So he'd settle for having it as a name.

"You want me to call you Speak? Fascinating. Suppose you could call me Credits instead, yeah?" I giggled and he smiled, his body vibrated under my hands as if he was actually laughing. I threw the cloth behind me, mostly at his father, and then rose to my feet. I held my hand down to him and when he grabbed onto me, I pulled him up. The poor boy could barely stand straight.

I wrapped my one good arm around his waist and did what I could to hold him up; he was much taller than me, "Alright, let's go. My ship's hidden on some loading dock on the east entrance. We should get to it by sunrise. Anything you want to tell your father before you go?"

Speak had wrapped his arm around my shoulders and eyed his father, who was face first in a pile of mud. He would look dead if it wasn't for his back rising and falling with each breath he took. Speak's eyes turned to mine and I heard what he wanted his dad to know. 

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not telling him that."

Speak tilted his head, said please.

"Oh, wow. This is inhumane, really." I groaned and looked down at his dad, resisting the urge to gag out the words, "Your son wants you to know that he loves you and he hopes you learn to control your temper. I want you to know that you're a..."

A hand quickly covered my mouth and Speak pulled my face back around to him. He was shaking his head.

I shook his hand off of my mouth and took the first step of many to come, "This is the beginning of a very strange friendship, wouldn't you agree?"


	2. The Job

I enjoy crowds. Any place that's busy enough to basically cause me to become invisible are my favorite places to be. Cantinas and casinos are the only places I'll agree to meet with strangers looking for someone to do their dirty work for them and this particular creature agreed to meet me at a cantina located on a planet in the outer rim.

The room was packed full of aliens and other species, all drinking and eating to their hearts content. There was a band performing on the stage and droids working behind the bar collecting credits while dealing beverages. Laughter, talking and singing filled my ears and I embraced the pulse of life around me, even if it was a positive energy.

Speak stood close behind, dressed in his usual black robes that covered his identity completely. He pointed out to me an old man sitting alone at a booth in the corner who appeared nervous and out of place. That was our guy. Speak then placed both his hands on my shoulders and rested his forehead against the back of my head. He told me to see to the job and call for him if I planned to make a deal.

"What are you going to do?" I asked curiously and turned around to face him.

His lips brushed the top of my head as he let me know he was planning to play look out in case our job offer turns sour. I couldn't see his face as he looked down on me, but I trusted him enough to know he was simply looking out for me even though he knows I hate it when he feels he has to do that. It damages my ego.

I began pushing my way through the crowd until I reached my destination and plopped down in the seat across from the old man. After pushing off my hood, I smiled to him, "What's the weather like?"

He let out a huge sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair, "Dimley Di'Lora, I'm so pleased to finally meet you after so many days spent communicating through droids."

"I'm a wanted person by very many rude people, mister Caine. I had to do my research first. I know you understand." I leaned back now, placing my hands flat on the table, "So, what've you got for me?"

Caine looked around him, seeming suspicious as ever, as he reached into his robes. The old loon was obviously doing this for someone else and for the first time as well. I knew who he worked for from my research on him, but he didn't know that I knew that. His master is a powerful being within the sewers of a forgotten planet in the lesser regions, rumored to be forming some sort of army in order to rise those poor planets into some form of governmental power. They're so poor and under-populated that even if someone took those rumors as absolute truth, the worry towards such an uprising was minimal at best. It would be an easy war for any planet to win.

When Caine slid a small, rectangular metal piece in my direction, I took it from the table and examined it, "I suppose you'd hate it if I opened it in here? Considering all the attention we've drawn to ourselves."

There wasn't a soul looking in our direction. 

"I wish you would wait, but I understand if you want to take a peak at it before we part ways... in case you have any questions." Caine folded his arms over his chest, "I probably cannot answer the questions, but I can relay them and get an answer for you."

"Or you can give me the direct contact to V. I'm sure he won't mind."

Caine went pale. All he could manage to do is mumble a bunch of incoherent words while patting his cheeks as if checking to see if he was still alive or dreaming. I simply watched him, amazed at how quickly he began to sweat. He didn't know if he should deny knowing V, question how I knew V or if maybe he was being tested in some way. Denying anything would be absolutely foolish of him at this point - even without my ability to sense his emotions I'd know he was lying. 

"Dimley, please... don't... say that again." He finally choked out the words as he looked over his shoulders.

"No one is coming for you, Caine." I sighed and tucked the metal device he'd given me inside my robe, "I told you that I did my research. Now, calm down. Pull yourself together. I won't open the message here if you can give me the briefing on what it is I'm supposed to do for you."

He nodded quickly, his thinning hair flopped around on his head. I could hear Speak in the back of my head asking if Caine was okay and the question made me chuckle. 

Caine spoke softly and nervously, "There is a weapon somewhere on Kef Bir near the Deathstar wreckage. I need you to find it and bring it to me."

"That's it? You need me to... pick up a weapon? Is it being guarded? Do I kill anyone with it? What's the catch here?"

"Kef Bir is an ocean moon."

I nodded then, now fully understanding the challenge at hand, "I'm assuming this weapon is lost somewhere in the ocean and you have no coordinates or even a clue as to where I should start?"

"No idea, I'm afraid. It has been very difficult locating a suitable being for the job. From my very little understanding of the situation, you possess a sort of power which should help you find it quickly. That's what I was told, anyway."

"I see." Chills rolled down my spine, "He's done his research as well."

Caine leaned forward and shielded his mouth as he whispered to me, "He knows there are two of you."

My hands balled up into tight fists and I spoke through gritted teeth, "My name is attached to this job. If I fail or stray from the agreement, any consequences are mine to bare. There will be no mention of my partner and there will be no consequences shown towards him, understand?"

"Of course. You've completed several bounties along with your partner with only your name attached. I've spoken with mutual acquaintances about your work, I know how you operate your business."

"But does V know?" I said the words much more harshly than I meant to, but it conveyed my inner emotions quite well.

Caine ran his fingers through his hair and pulling at the roots of it, his face was turning red and sweat was forming on his forehead once again, "Yes, he knows. Please, let's discuss payment."

"Go on."

He reached into his robe again and laid out a stack of credits, enough to last me weeks without having to pick up another job. There was so much excitement swelling inside of me that I almost grabbed them from the table before even making the deal official. 

"This is the first half of your pay. You take it if you agree to the job. The second half comes when the weapon is delivered." He slid a tablet on the table beside the credits, "I just need your name for proof that you've taken the job and this pay."

It wasn't uncommon for me to sign my life away before a job, but it wasn't normal at all for someone to give this many credits, especially as only partial pay. I'd done three jobs and made less than what was sitting before me. It's unlike me to question the jobs, nor am I supposed to, but Caine was a bad liar and something didn't feel right. 

"What is so special about this weapon?" I asked and pulled out the metal gadget. I spun it around between my fingers and examined it further, "Will that answer be shown to me through this?"

"That's an image of the weapon." He said simply, shrugging a bit, "It's significance isn't information I can give."

"But you do know. You know why it's needed."

He stalled, mumbled a bit to himself, then remained silent. I sat back, still eyeing the thing in my hand, and pressed the small switch on the side of it. Caine gasped and immediately laid his head on the table. In my hand was a small hologram which floated and spun around above the metal piece. I winced and shook my head. I wasn't sure if I was surprised or more confused.

"A lightsaber?" Even I was whispering now. Once the hologram vanished, I shoved it back into my robe and looked at the top of Caine's shaking head, "Why? What is this needed for?"

Caine looked back up at me, seeming angry, "You take the job or you don't. Either you sign now or you walk away. I don't have time for this."

If Speak hadn't become such a dominant part of my life, my decision here would have been made as soon as the credits hit the table. Lately, I see situations the way that he would and I judge the outcomes of situations before they happen. Knowing what V was trying to do and knowing what little I did about lightsabers made this job seem far more dangerous in the long run than jobs I'd normally take. This seemed like catering to an uprising. This seemed wrong on a galactic level. Causing myself personal inconveniences is one thing, but being a part of something that would cause irreversible damage galaxy wide isn't in my book. I've murdered criminals and traitors for half portions, stolen riches from glutinous narcissists, and high-jacked stolen ships to return to their owners, but this... I couldn't.

I slammed the hologram piece on the table and shoved it, along with the credits and tablet, back towards Caine. Of course I managed to take a few credits without him noticing, but he owed me for my time. After I rose to my feet, I heard Caine laughing quietly to himself.

"You're making a mistake." His voice was tired and fearful.

I shrugged and placed my hood back on, "Maybe so. I guess I'll find out sooner or later."


	3. The Debate

"Start her up, RO-9." I shouted into the cockpit of my completely gutted-then-cheaply-renovated transport. It was the first thing I'd ever earned from a job. 

RO-9 responded in her motherly, robotic voice, immediately moving to fire up the ship, "Do you have coordinates for me?"

I was checking the breakers, ignoring Speak's overflow of questions that were firing off in my head, "Uh, just shoot us somewhere into the void of space for now. I don't have a location yet."

"Yes, my dear." RO-9 responded calmly and I heard her preparing for take off, "Is the ship ready to make the jump?"

I flipped the last switch, "It is, Row. Go for lightspeed."

"Please have a seat before take off." 

I jumped beside her in the co-pilot seat and Speak sat down behind me, falling silent. RO-9 was a nanny droid I'd found in a junkyard when I was a kid. She basically became my mother. Every function or action she performs is for me and my well-being; she is extremely caring and intelligent, but will also blast someone's head off if they're a threat to me.

As soon as we were floating in the middle of space and the ship went idle, I asked Row to give me a moment alone with Speak and she didn't hesitate to go. 

I embraced the silence while I had it and knew as soon as I opened my mouth, I'd miss it, "Okay, here's the deal. I didn't take the job because it didn't feel like the right thing to do. However," I reached into my robe and pulled out the few credits I swiped and held them out to Speak. "We didn't leave empty handed, so that's a plus. I was thinking we could have them exchanged out on Batuu and treat ourselves to a nice meal."

Speak tilted his head towards me and pushed his hood off of his head, revealing his face which he typically hides. The scars that are forever a part of his skin are marks he feels make him frightening to others. There are days he feels vulnerable and he even hides himself away from me. I've never thought poorly of the scars or his appearance, they only make me sad. I always wished I'd met him sooner. 

He took the credits from my hand and placed them inside his robe, smirking a bit as he did so. I just shrugged and rolled my eyes, waited patiently for the questions to begin again or at least an agreement to getting some food. But my mind soon went elsewhere.

I leaned back and folded my arms over my chest as the visual of the lightsaber reappeared in my head. Lightsabers are powerful weapons, but from my understanding, their power can only be used by certain beings. They are created by their user and serve their user, so someone else wanting one that they did not create makes very little sense to me.

I could feel Speak's eyes studying my face, "What?"

He wanted to know what I was thinking about. I wish I knew how to place a certain aspect of my consciousness inside of his head to save some breath, but we'd tried so many times to break that wall down before and never got close to figuring it out.

"Caine wants a lightsaber brought to him." I waited for a reaction just long enough to know I wasn't going to get one, "I said no because of my ignorace to the things. You know just as I do that Caine works for V, you know that V has been attempting to create an army of decrepid swamp peasants somewhere in the lesser regions of the Outer Rim and if lightsabers really have significant power, I feel like V doesn't need one."

Speak looked away from me, nodding gently. He commented on how unlike me it was and how much I was beginning to think like him. The toothy smile he flashed after mentioning that made me snarl. But then he asked me what the lightsaber looked like and I caught wind of his peak in interest.

I spun around to fully face him, intrigued by this interest, "It was odd. I'd seen drawings of them before, but they were pretty simple. You know, metal hilts with a strange light beam emerging from it. It was all stories for me, though. I've only ever partially believed they were real. This one was the same, but instead of one beam, the hilt had two smaller ports on the side for two more beams to come out of."

When Speak stood up and started pacing, I knew something was up. Speak used to have a comlink hidden in his quarters at home where he'd listen to broadcasts and keep up with galactic news, so I'm sure he knows something now that I don't. I grew up with the swamp peasants but left before becoming decrepid. Anything outside of my extremely poor and starved town was simply unknown until I found and rebooted RO-9. That droid practically saved my life. Even with what she was able to tell me, though, I knew very little of the galaxy and how big it was. I'm honestly still learning so much every single day.

Speak asked if I knew the color of the hilt or the beam and when I shook my head, he fell silent again, still pacing the floor.

"Tell me what you think you know and I may be able to confirm or deny your guesses."

He sat back down and faced me, his eyes diving into mine. Speak mentioned the old Supreme Leader of the fallen First Order and said that a similar weapon was used by him.

I searched my brain for a name and blurted it out as soon as I remembered, "Kylo Ren? Didn't he vanish some time ago? He wielded a lightsaber? That's so cool."

My question was met with a nod. Most things concerning wars and politics, I kept my mind away from it. Kylo Ren was just a name to me, I'd never had an actual person to attach it to. The First Order was a unit I never encountered - I'd been to planets that they'd wiped out or taken over, seen a few troopers and a handful of TIE's, but that world was always separate from mine. My daily routine revolved around finding work to survive and the First Order had never gotten in my way. 

The fall of the First Order was much different. It was celebrated and broadcast nearly everywhere I stepped foot. There was a lot of gossip and rumors surrounding their ending that I'd overhear in cantinas or casinos, sometimes even by employers. Kylo Ren was the hottest topic of them all - the former Supreme Leader had been killed by a Jedi and Ren took over. I assumed the stress of ruling got to him and he went into hiding, but some say he actually died. The Council never released an official statement about it, only that there was no threat and everyone could now live in peace. 

Speak had been talking to me about his beliefs on Ren when a particular statement caught my attention, "You said something about an ocean moon, right?"

When I heard Kef Bir echo in Speak's voice, I sunk down in my seat and flipped on my hood, giving a thumbs up. Speak nealed down in front of me and grabbed my hands. I felt his thumbs moving gently back and forth on my hands and I looked into his bright colored eyes. He was telling me that we needed to find the lightsaber before Caine found someone else to, he was telling me that we could potentionally prevent something horrible from happening if we did it.

I held tightly to his hands and leaned forward, my face not far from his, "Can you swim, Speak? Because I can't."

I listened closely to his genuine encouragement and wished I had been able to hold in my laughter, "Right, yes, the Force will be with us! Of course. We are Jedi now, yeah? Is... is that it? Look, I adore you, but sometimes your optimism makes me question how stable my emotions actually are."

He placed his hand on the side of my face now, his eyes pleading with me to see it the way he does. He isn't claiming that we are Jedi nor is he suggesting we become heroes, he just believes that we can do something with the information we've been given despite not accepting payment. I was already fully aware of his intentions, but hearing him explain himself tugged on the lighter parts of my soul. I pulled his hand from my face and looked out of the window at the stars surrounding us - small specks of light puncturing through the darkness of infinite space. I'd always felt like that's what my soul looked like after meeting Speak. He's my star.

"Row!" I shouted, keeping my eyes on the stars as my droid entered the cockpit, "Set course for Kef Bir, please."

"Yes, my dear." Row said and moved her metal limbs gracefully back to the pilot seat before typing in coordinates.

I ran my fingers through Speak's hair and sighed, "What do we do with it if we find it?"

He rose before me and told me we would figure it and I chose to trust his judgement.


	4. The Force

I guess knowing that Kef Bir was an ocean moon wasn't enough for me grasp exactly what that meant. I expected water, but for whatever reason I didn't expect this much water. I stood between Speak and Row, looking out into the crashing waves as winds blew into us. Speak was calm and positive, as usual, and Row was scanning the wreckage before us to see if she could find any object to match the description of the lightsaber I'd given her. All I could do was stare at all of it in awe and bask in my fear of drowning. Finding something that can fit in the palm of my hand in the middle of all this has to be impossible.

"No one will find it." I said as I looked down at my feet, "If we are only looking for it to prevent it from entering the wrong hands, I don't think there's any point in us trying. No one will even be able to find it."

Speak placed his hand on my shoulder as he breathed deeply, closing his eyes to feel the energy around him. He wanted me to escape my own thoughts and worries. He wanted me to focus on what was around me, not inside of me. But with every parsec that passed as I did focus on what was around me, the bigger my inner troubles grew which made them harder to ignore. I shrugged Speak's hand off of my shoulder and took a step forward, kneeling before the ocean. I placed my hand flat on the surface of the planet, my fingers combing through the grass. 

"Show me." I whispered, closing my eyes, "Show me my purpose here."

The only thing to be heard was the rushing waves. My doubts and fears were also still pretty loud in my head no matter how hard I tried to shut myself up, but I tried desperately to write them off. 

"I am unable to locate any object that matches your description. Much of the wreckage is blocking my scanner, interfering with a thorough search." Row said and I turned around to face her. She was looking down at me, her metal head tilted a bit, "I apologize if I have not satisfied your needs. Would you like me to scan the area again?"

I shook my head, "No thank you, Row. You may return to the ship."

She bowed and spoke before walking away, "Yes, my dear."

Speak sat down beside me and held his hand out to me. I laced my fingers through his and chills ran up my arm as they always do when he touches me in affectionate ways like this. I'm not very romantic nor have I ever been, but I've tried to figure out how to become more comfortable with accepting those lighter, happier parts of myself. Speak deserves to be loved, he deserves the best love anyone could get, and I genuinely want to be the person who can give him that. Even in moments like these where I can't grasp why we're doing something or I can't comprehend how he sees certain situations, I want him to get what he wants out of it.

I looked at our hands and felt a bit of relief and clarity, "We should report this to the Council and let them handle it, don't you think? Row could send off a message. If this really is something in relation to Kylo Ren, I'm sure they'd be glad to know about it."

He seemed thoughtful, though anything he was thinking was not being shared with me. I let go of his hand so that I could push his hood off of his head and see his face. There was hope in his eyes and I knew then that's why he had his hood on. Speak didn't like it when I knew he was hopeful, because he knew I tended to beat myself up over not being able to deliver on whatever he was hoping for. Still, he locked his eyes on mine and grinned. He told me that he was not against contacting the Council, but that he knew it would take days for any message to be received by them.

"Then we'll go to them physically. I hear they hang around Takodana often, maybe they'll be there now."

He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up to his feet. I watched as he faced the ocean and felt how he let himself become one with his surroundings. He lifted his hand up towards the wreckage and closed his eyes, calling on the Force for guidance. He was calm, passive and absolutely beautiful. 

His hand fell to his side as he snickered and told me to stop staring at him.

"Why would I do that?" I leaned back on my elbows, getting a better view of his entire body, "Carry on with your little Force summoning. I'll be here... learning. I'm learning, Speak."

His head shook a few times before he went back to what he was doing, though this time he lifted both of his hands and his breathing became loud. Every thought and feeling he was having came to me as if they were mine. I could feel the pulse of life around us in the small bugs crawling through the grass and the creatures in the ocean. I felt like a wave rocking back and forth, meeting the shore only for a moment before leaving it. I closed my eyes and clung on to what Speak was showing me, choosing to hold my hands out like he was doing his. It was so peaceful, this world he was falling in to, and so balanced. 

But then I felt something different, something cold. I heard a name being called, I felt the pain from constant loss, I sensed the presence of death, the heartache of regret and abandonment. I closed my eyes tighter, following this darkness. I heard my name now coming from a voice that wasn't at all familiar. It was taunting me, calling me weak. It told me that Speak was going to leave me just like everyone else did.

"No, you're wrong." I told the voice, "He wouldn't."

_I thought the same about my family._

"I'm not you."

_You're no different._

I saw visions of a small boy waiting for his parents to come home, followed by images of mine being taken away. The pain and anger were growing so strong within me that Speak's plea for me to come back to him were faint whispers I could easily avoid. I was trying to run to my parents, but I couldn't move forward. Something was always holding me back, something I would never have the courage to face.

My mind wandered to the surface of the ocean floor, gliding past the monsters that dwelled there. I was becoming nauseous and couldn't breathe. Voices were following me, someone was coming after me as I was being pulled further from the shore. There was a war going on down here, TIE fighters and X-wings blasting one another. A war under the ocean? How is this happening?

As I began flying back to the surface, the voice said one last thing to me, loud and clear as if whomever it belonged to had his lips to my ear.

_I'm not dead._

At first I couldn't decide if the physical feeling of something slamming into the palm of my hand was real or part of this weird Force trip. I was finally able to breathe and I could feel sweat dripping down my face. Or... was it water? It took longer than it should have for me to open my eyes and see Speak off to the side of me. Worry and shock were both etched on his face, soon to be painted on mine.

In my hand was the weapon... it was Kylo Ren's lightsaber. I dropped it immediately and scooted away from it.

"That thing is... it's... I don't want it." My entire body was trembling and I was struggling to even my breathing. There was so much devastation and pain wrapped around that weapon - pain worse than any I'd felt... yet. I quickly looked over at Speak, refusing the tears that wanted to come, "You're going to leave me. That's what it told me. I'm going to feel the same agony that was just shown to me because you're... going to leave."

I hated myself then. As Speak moved closer to me in attempt to hold me, I moved away from him. I hated that I cared about losing him. In this moment, I hated what he made me become. My feelings for him made me weak, they made me vulnerable. I was never either of those things before I met him. I didn't want to feel like this. Moments ago I adored this man and now, I can't decide. 

"What's happening to me?" I whispered. He stood and picked up the saber, tucking it away in his robe. He told me that the darkside was clinging to me, calling to me so that I'd rise with it as all of its wielders had. Then Speak asked me if I wanted him to leave, he asked me if the anger I was feeling was meant for him. He asked me if I wanted to be free of what he interpreted as a burden. 

Before I could respond, let alone blink, a familiar voice filled my ears, "He was right about you."

Caine was standing among six other individuals, a twisted smile covered his face. The timid, nervous man that he was at the cantina must've been a front, because this man was confident and menacing. 

I swallowed back the bile that had crept up my throat, trying to find my way back to myself as I spoke, "What a pleasant surprise."


	5. The Ambush

The six men standing behind Caine were all bearing weapons and had masks covering their faces. It was still easy to see that they weren't human, but not as easy to tell what species they were. Speak placed himself beside me, though I immediately took a step in front of him to shield him from Caine. It became a habit, protecting Speak, and I was pleased that I still had the need to guard him even after my meltdown. I was coming back to the surface and regaining my sense of self; the darkness hadn't left me yet, but it wasn't clouding my judgement anymore. 

"Give me the weapon and we can part ways without any trouble." Caine said, holding out his hand, "If you refuse, I will have my men take it from your corpses."

"Swamp peasants." I laughed out my words, "If they are following your orders, they have to be at the bottom of the chain. Your men are swamp peasants. No disrespect, I was once one myself, but you should know that I don't feel threatened."

"Is that so?" Caine questioned and I was struggling to understand how he was the same man from the cantina. He even spoke differently now which, in a way, made him appear younger. It was fascinatingly odd. 

One of his lackey's lifted a blaster and aimed it just past my head. I knew instantly he wasn't aiming at me, but looking to take a shot at Speak. I squinted my eyes, feeling a bit more tense, "I don't recommend that."

The other men followed suit, all lifting their weapons and focusing on Speak - two others with blasters and three with clubs raised up to swing. Speak was unbothered.

"I will only ask you one more time." Caine took a step back so that his men were on the front line, "Give me the weapon."

Speak told me to remain silent. He was playing out our victory in his mind even if we were outnumbered. Typically in any fight, I'm the one to end our opponent. Speak never attacks first, nor does he battle to the death - he refuses to take another beings life, no matter the situation. The fact that these guys were aiming only for him works in my favor, since Speak's fighting technique is to defend. He would protect himself from their blasts and I would eliminate the enemy, thus in my own way, protect him as well.

I don't wait around, either. I enjoy making the first move. 

In one fluid motion I bent over and pulled two daggers from the holsters in the side of my boots, flinging them both towards two of the lackey's holding blasters. My daggers sliced through them easily and I called my weapons back into my hands, smiling at Caine as two of his men fell. Their life left them immediately.

"Sorry." I muttered to Speak, feeling the adrenaline set in. The other four men backed up, putting Caine ahead of them once more.

Speak suggested I read the situation before me instead of focusing so much on my own feelings - he pointed out the fear surrounding all of the men, even Caine, and mentioned how he believed they were never even planning to pull any triggers or fight us. They're just for show, taunting us with hope that we'll fear them and give up the weapon. Caine's presence was even drifting back into that frightened man from the cantina as he eyed both of his fallen men. I took Speak's suggestion to heart and tucked my dagger's back into my boots, disappointed that there probably wouldn't be any fight.

"I'll pay you for it. My offer still stands." Caine shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the fact that he was trembling. 

I turned to look at Speak. He shook his head slowly, never making eye contact with me.

"My partner says no." I said, turning back to Caine, "So, no. Let us through."

"I didn't ask your partner." Caine spoke through gritted teeth - he also was not making eye contact with me. He and Speak were burning holes through each other. There was tension between them, created by fear and aggravation. I couldn't exactly tell which of them was feeling what. Caine continued, "I asked you, Dimley. I'm asking you for the weapon. You seem capable of making your own decisions - don't let him make them for you."

Speak was telling Caine to shut up, though Caine would never hear it. Something was incredibly wrong with this scene, though. Caine knows I can plow through them easily, making an escape from them a simple stroll back to my ship. He knows I'm not going to hand over the weapon, either, yet he keeps talking like it will make a difference.

"The bounties I was told of you completing in record time are hard for me to believe now. You've killed people for much less than what I'm offering you for a simple weapon." Caine was laughing at me now, "I don't know what use you have for such a weapon, but I see who has control in this little duo you're in. The man who cannot even speak."

His words prompted no shift in my focus. I tilted my head, watching his subtle movements - the way his eyes shifted quickly now between me and Speak, the way his men were swaying from side to side with loose grips on their weapons. That's when it hit me. 

"He's stalling." I whispered and lifted my hand up, pulling Caine through the air towards me, "He's coming, isn't he?"

Caine struggled to respond, "And he isn't alone."

With as much force as I could muster, I threw Caine and watched him fly towards his men, knocking them all down. I called the blasters to me, handing one to Speak, "We have to go. We have to get as far away from here as possible." 

Lucky for me, Speak agreed and readied the blaster, like he'd even use it, as we ran back to my ship. I couldn't help but to watch the sky and the fields far away for any sign of V and his army. I could sense that they were close, just not exactly how close. 

But my movements stopped quickly and I fell to the ground when Speak ran into me. He rolled over beside me, questioning my sudden halt, but it didn't take long for him to follow my gaze. Row was lying down a few yards from the ship and smoke was rising around her. 

I was choking on tears as I crawled to her, whispering her name. Speak was quick, soon to be in front of my and scooping the broken droid into his arms. I pushed myself up, clinging to my pain, and continued running as I watched the sky. There was still no sign of V or his army, which made me assume this whole gimmick was simply a warning and scare tactic... maybe both.

As we ran up the ramp to my ship, I took a quick look behind me and noticed Caine off in the distance. I could quite make out his expression. 

"Run a security scan, Speak." I said, remaining in place. 

Speak was way ahead of me - I could hear the ship's computer booting up before the engine even came to life. Speak informed me of a breach in the security panel and talked me through to the location. I ran back outside and circled the ship, looking at the outsides of it. It didn't take me long to see the tracker attached just under the cockpit window. 

I removed it and ran back to the ramp, then held it up to Caine who was now slowly moving in my direction. 

"Been doing this a while, mister Caine!" I shouted and threw the tracker towards the sky, immediately shooting it with the blaster and watched it explode. Caine stopped moving then and hung his head. 

Speak told me to stop taunting them and began to lift the shift from the planet's surface. I sighed and walked in, punching a button on the wall to close the ramp. Speak soon brought us out of atmosphere and into hyperspace. 

I fell beside Row and cradled her head, inspecting the damage. She wasn't irreparable, but it would take a professional and a lot of credits to get her back to normal. 

"Speak, set course for Batuu." I laid Row down gently and moved to the cockpit, taking my place in the copilot seat, "It'll be a few hours before we get there, so we can rest now. Then, when we are there, we can refuel the ship and ourselves, and get Row repaired."

He looked over at me, seeming a bit sympathetic, and nodded. When he questioned what we would do once we were finished on Batuu, I had an answer which I didn't give to him.

"When the ship is on mark, join me for a nap, please?" I felt tired and I know I looked it. Even my smile, meant to be alluring or tempting, felt sad. Speak placed his finger under my chin, assuring me he would be with me momentarily.

I stood up and kissed his forehead, trying not to think too much about what was happening or would soon be happening. Even if the feelings were buried, they were still there. My arrogance and bravery only spread so far since I'd met this man.

We were being hunted - not for arrest, but to be murdered over a weapon tucked in Speak's robe. It wasn't even a job gone wrong that he could be cleared for by not being attached, per my wishes. This was personal.

And if anything happens to Speak, I'm terrified of what will happen to me. 

He may not have been able to hear my thoughts, but he could sense my feelings. He told me to stay calm and go relax. He told me we would keep one another safe.

It would have been easier to believe him if I didn't have to step over Row's broken body to get to my cot.


	6. The Bounty

Batuu was as I remembered it - busy streets filled with merchants and creatures from all around the galaxy. There was plenty to see and plenty to buy, docking bays filled with ships of travelers, traders and smugglers. The chatter of different languages filled the air and the atmosphere itself was all around warm and inviting. I could smell the food at Cookie's place from where we landed.

Lenny came hopping in my direction as I emerged from my ship, his spectacles resting on the end of his small orange nose. He was a small, worm-like creature with a datapad in hand.

"Long stay?" He asked, looking up high to meet my eyes, "Short stay? Pick up for Oga?"

"Short stay, no business with Oga." I responded and dug into my robe, handing over credits, "We'll be in and out quickly."

"Name of passengers needed for records." He said as he shoved the credits into a small pouch on his side before tapping away at the datapad.

I sighed, squinting at the sunlight, "Dimley Di'Lora and Speak - human species. RO-9, nanny droid with minor alterations."

Lenny jumped back, jamming his slime covered finger on the pad roughly, "Dimley Di'Lora, you say? Please don't say."

Speak was now behind me holding Row and staring down at a frantic Lenny. 

I knelt down to the small alien and waved an extra credit in his face, "I won't say if you don't."

Lenny went wide eyed as he looked at the credit. He nearly reached out for it before yelling, "I must say! Master! Master!" He hopped off quickly, going to fetch his boss.

I groaned and turned to Speak, "Take Row to maintenance to assess the damage. I'll... deal with this. My debts to Oga are paid so I don't know why there's any issues."

Speak kept a straight face as he mentioned me killing three of her guards the last time I was here. 

I waved him away, "Easily replaceable. They started it, too. Never pick a fight you can't win, right?"

He rolled his eyes and walked passed me, instructing me to be civil in his absence. I repressed my urge to respond and waited for Lenny to come back and see to me. 

Pushing through the crowd was a familiar face, one of Oga's men named Treck. He wore dust covered, ill fitted clothes with shades covering his eyes. When he smiled at me, I could see his many rows of sharp teeth and I folded my arms, "I haven't done anything wrong."

"I didn't say you had." He chuckled and held a hand out to me, "Oga will see you now."

"I'm not here for Oga. I'm here for food."

"Oga has food." He laughed again, curling his fingers and nodding, "She is happy to know that you are here. Come on. Don't keep her waiting."

I knew it was inevitable at this point and went ahead of him, moving quickly to get to Oga's quarters. Hearing that she's happy with my arrival was clue enough for me to know she isn't mad at me, but that she needs me for something. Before I met Speak, Oga and I were quite close; I completed a lot of shady deals for her. A lot of blood was shed in her name by hands. It was a life I hope Speak never finds out about.

I moved quickly down the dark alley and didn't bother knocking once reaching the door to Oga's domain. I barged in, holding my arms open wide and smiling at her when she looked up quickly at me, "Hello, Oga."

There was a sparkle in her eye when she looked me over. Her hefty figure moved slowly towards me, "Di'Lora! Hello and welcome back. You're looking more pale than usual." She laughed and shook her head, "I'm so happy that you're here."

"But why, though? Why is that?" I tried to remain genuine in my friendliness, but it was definitely coming across as fake. She knew it, too, but Oga didn't care; she was only going to focus on getting out of me what she wanted. 

Oga was close to me now, circling me as she spoke calmly, "You know I oversee a lot of trades and give out a lot of jobs, but did you know that I know a lot of beings?"

"It makes sense, Oga." I nodded and began to back away to the door, smiling as I went, "Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I hope you have another fun story for me the next time I drop in."

When I pulled the door open, she slammed it back shut. She was much closer to me than I wanted her to be, but I wasn't going to be the one to move. We're both strong-willed, hard headed women - I think that's why she likes me so much.

"Di'Lora, Di'Lora, Di'Lora." She leaned against the door, "You've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

"News travels fast these days." My mind began to run wild as I tried to figure out who would tell Oga about my recent affairs and why they would do it. Not only that, why would it even interest her enough to request me? Oga deals with different sorts of jobs, or at least she did, and she works for no one. There's no way she would be taking orders from Caine... or from V.

She waddled back over to her chair and plopped down into it. Two guards that I'd never seen before took place beside her, weapons placed in their belts to be purposely visible. 

Oga sighed, "Indeed it does. When I was told about the trouble you were in, I was certain you would come here for help."

I held my hands up, "I'm here for food and fuel. I'm not looking for any help at all, I promise. There's no deal to make here, Oga."

She slouched, disappointed, "If you don't need my help, then I'm afraid that means I need yours. You see, Di'Lora, I need you to surrender whatever you have that Caine wants, so that I can send it off to him with my next shipment."

"It's not like you to work for someone else." I kept an eye on her, trying to read her emotions. There wasn't much to figure out about her - she appeared as she always has. 

She snarled, "I work for no one. This is simply a trade, like the hundreds of other trades I oversee weekly. I give him what he wants, he gives me something in exchange."

"Then call off the trade." I shrugged, opening up my robes and spinning around, "I've got nothing of value on me, see? Whoever this Caine is gave you false information."

Oga gripped the arms of her chair and leaned forward, "Caine put a bounty out, Di'Lora. I'm doing you a favor by asking for the object he wants and not simply taking a life."

"He put a bounty out on a bounty hunter?" I was seriously appalled just as much as I was amused, "What an idiot."

"The bounty isn't for you." Oga's face fell. Her admiration for me was surfacing and outweighing whatever she originally called me in here for. She was sympathetic now, yet angry still, "You were my best employee. You paying off your debts to me was the saddest day of my life before I killed my ex-boyfriend for being with the bar tender at my own pub. And then you met that muted man and lost a bit of your edge. I thought seeing you now would be easy, I thought I could convince you to just... give me the thing Caine wants..."

"Oga," I stopped her desperate banter, closing the distance between us, "What exactly is happening right now?"

She looked deep into my eyes, "There's been a bounty sent out to all planets in the outer rim for your partner. The only way to get the target off his back is to surrender the loot."

My legs began to shake as I turned to run from the room. Whatever Oga was shouting at me was nothing my brain could properly translate. All I could do was run and hope Speak was okay. I wouldn't let my fear get the better of me... not yet, not now. 

I sprinted out of the alley and was soon standing back in the middle of the crowd, looking around everywhere for any sign of him. I couldn't scream for him without risking giving his location away to any possible bounty hunters. All I could do was listen for him in my mind and keep my focus on my surroundings.

I could still sense him, which was a good thing, yet the darkness in me was coming back. The pain and fear, the vision of Speak leaving me...

What if he didn't leave? What if that's not what the vision was truly showing me? What if he... gets taken away? 

I ran through the crowd, elbowing my way through the tourists and locals. Maintenance wasn't much further ahead and the closer I got to the dusty old building, the more at peace I felt.

Then I heard him in my head again, arguing with a worker who would never hear a word he'd say.

He was fine, but how long will it last? How long will I feel this hopelessness?

He turned around and saw me in the doorway, begging me to tell the technician what all we needed. 

I sighed, feeling guilty for sending here alone, "Just fix the droid. We'll have whatever payment you require and will offer more than you ask if you see to it now."

The small woman wiped her forehead and shouted for her workers droids before grinning at me, "I just needed confirmation for payment. Sorry for the trouble."

Speak patted her shoulder and nodded.

"He's apologizing for getting frustrated with you." I told her, "He left his translator in the ship."

She looked up at him and gave him the prettiest smile I'd ever seen come from a human, "I'm sorry for raising my voice."

He nodded, I spoke, "All is forgiven."

"Well then, let me get to work on this droid for you. Why not head out and get something to drink, come back in an hour." She said and turned around to work. 

My stomach agreed, "Yeah, Speak. Let's do that. We need to talk, anyway."

He voiced some concerns, considering my tone, but I simply backed out of the building and began the walk to Cookie's. I moved slowly until Speak was beside me so that I could keep an eye on him.

Caine found my weak spot and it seemed he would do whatever he could to hit it with all he's got.


	7. The Decision

My previous hunger abandoned me. By the time a plate of hot tip-yips was before me, I couldn't imagine actually eating them. Speak tried for so long to pry into my mind as I forced myself to nibble on the same meal he was inhaling like the starved man he is, but I never uttered a word to him other than requesting that he keeps his head low and hood up. 

The thing with Batuu is it's a safe haven for criminals, which means it's a jackpot of sorts for bounty hunters. Even if there were other wanted individuals here, whether in the market or sitting beside us, I couldn't help but feel that whatever price was hanging over Speak's head outshined the rest. Knowing Speak as I do, there's no doubt he would surrender himself to Caine in order to buy me time with that blasted lightsaber. 

"I have to do something with it." I whispered outloud to myself by accident, feeling the raging frustration growing inside of me. 

Speak's head shot up from his plate and his eyebrows lowered. He asked me to repeat myself.

I sighed, "Do you want the rest of mine?"

He asked why I hardly ate anything, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms as he soaked in my being. I returned the gaze, feeling vulnerable once more. Soon, my plate was shoved in front of him and I leaned on the table, making myself smile, "Just eat it. I need you focused on this... issue we have. I'm nearly certain that turing the weapon in to the Council is our only option at this point."

Speak began eating my leftovers as he mentioned the only reason he didn't want us doing that - I would go to prison if I stepped foot on any planet within the Core. That hardly seemed like a reason not to do it, though. I don't fear prison and I definitely don't believe they would be able to confine me in a cell for longer than a week. I'm persuasive. It's not hard for me to get out of messy situations... that is, of course, unless it involves some powerful Sith relic.

"If me going to prison is your only argument, then you're outvoted and we'll go into the Core first thing tomorrow morning." I smiled a toothy smile, drumming a quick beat on the table.

Speak rolled his eyes, finishing his last bite. I began examining the room, noticing a few creatures sitting together at a table hunched over their plates of Cookie's best food. Their eyes were locked on Speak's back. I kept staring at them, hoping they would notice. Speak began laying out the credits owed for the food and questioned my intense stare.

One of the creatures pushed his chair back and began to stand slowly to his feet. When he reached into his coat, I also stood and kept my eye on him as I spoke softly to Speak, "Promise me that no matter what you hear in the next few minutes, you will not stand up or turn around to look."

Speak's eyes moved slowly up to mine, a dozen questions began racing in my mind from his voice. I disreguarded them all and patted his shoulder, moving slowly towards to table of sketchy creatures. When I arrived before them, I kept a straight face and nodded to each of them. The one standing was at least a foot taller than me, his body wide, face a pale green color covered in warts and other imperfections. He looked down at me and turned in my direction, revealing a blaster in his belt. 

His words were quiet and slow, coming out like a moan from a dying alien, "Di'Lora?"

I held my arms straight down my sides, opening my palms up so that my dagger flew into my hands from their hilts. I never broke eye contact, but he did. He fell back a bit after seeing what I'd done. I tilted my head, "Who's asking?"

"My... my..." he stuttered and attempting to regain what little composure he had, "My name is Quad. I am a... junk yard trader on Jakku, sent here by my boss... Unkar Plutt."

"I know of Unkar." I slammed my hands on the table now, making my daggers more visible to them. The other two sitting at the table pushed themselves away from me, both reaching into their own coats for a weapon. I showed now fear - there was none to show. My tone of voice was proof enough for them to know I didn't fear them at all, "He wants the lightsaber?"

"The man." One of the others said, voice trembling and higher in pitch than his mate, "He wants your partner."

I used my dagger to lightly scratch my cheek as I contemplated my next move. I could go ahead and kill them all in one quick move, but that would startle everyone else within this pub. I turned back around to get a quick peak at Speak, pleased to see his back was to me.

"What's your reward if you take him?" I looked back up, squinting at the creature before me.

"More than you could give me." He replied, pulling out his blaster, "We can take him quietly or..."

I stared at his neck, thinking of the air passing though his lungs and back out of his foul mouth. I thought about the air not being able to make it to his lungs anymore, and soon, his face showed me that it was possible. He grabbed hold of his neck and fell into his chair, looking at me with pleading eyes.

I shook my head and grinned, "I don't show pity or remorse to beings who are a threat to me or my partner."

One of his mates flew to his feet and shot his blaster at my face, but the beam stopped midair before flying back and hitting him in the chest. The last of the three was shaking his head quickly, hands raised above his head.

"Go." I told him, "Tell them what I've done. Tell them no reward is worth this."

My eyes bore into the one suffocating, his life leaving him quickly now. The last one ran out of the pub, his hands above his head the entire time. As soon as the one I had a hold on was dead, I relaxed and took a step away from them. A janitor droid rolled up to the table and looked at the two dead bodies before looking to me.

"They just died, I don't know." I told the droid with a shrug and walked back to Speak.

As soon as I was within his line of vision, he looked at me with a tense face and let me know how difficult it was for him not to turn around. I placed a quick kiss on the top on his hooded head and pulled at the fabric of his cloak, "Let's go get Row and get out of here."

To that, he agreed. As we passed by the janitor droid tending to the dead bodies, Speak was yet again asking me a dozen questions. 

I could only laugh it off and carry on.

As we ventured through the market to get back to Row, I was lost in my mind. I couldn't help but wonder what the Core planets looked like; I'd never been there before. From what I've been told, those planets and those who inhabit them are far more advanced in all things compared to outer rim worlds - better tech, faster ships, taller buildings, more credits to go around than I'll ever see. Throughout the endless years of war, the mid and outer rims were easier for those seeking power to overthrow. Once the wars ended, the planets that had been overrun had to begin rebuilding and growing their communities, but the progression never lasted - a new war would soon begin, leaving those poor planets back in the paths of destruction. 

There are few planets in the lesser regions with leaders that were able to seek immunity, like Batuu, enabling them to flourish instead of diminish. I've seen what the Empire and First Order did to weaker planets, though, and I feel they may never recover.

The Core typically remained untouched, so maintaining their status was easy. Even if the Republic had been dismantled at one point, those loyal to democracy and to peace were able to keep their security systems in check and fight for their freedom much easier than other planets. The Core is no place for a person like me - a thief, a killer, a smuggler. My face probably has it's own home on several wanted posters within the Core, and I will wear it proudly when I stroll through their streets.

We walked into the working station and saw the mechanic reviewing a holopad. She looked over at us and grinned, nodding across the room, "It's ready to go. All fixed up and polished like new."

Row was sitting upright on a desk and I moved over to her, powering her on. Her lights began to glow and her head moved left to right before she settled on my face, speaking as she always had, "Oh, dear. What happened to me?"

"You were shot. The blast fried your center panel." The tech said, still smiling, "Nothing irreparable, though. You should function as if it never happened."

Row climbed off the desk and moved her robotic body all around, getting a feel of things. She studied the tech's face and bowed, "I feel like myself. I can only thank you for fixing me for Dimley. She needs constant supervision."

"Not constant." I groaned and turned to the tech, "Thank you. Are we all set here?"

"Yes! Thank you for your business." She smiled, returning to her holopad. As Speak, Row and I made our way to the door, the tech had one more thing to say, "Oh, and Ms. Di'Lora? Be careful out there."

Our eyes met and her smile was much less cheerful and more sympathetic. She knew. She had to know about the bounty, her face was giving it away. I nodded and kept moving, staying close to Speak. I secured my hood on my head and covered as much of my face as I could. 

The loading dock was up ahead and the top of my ship was within my range of sight. Speak grabbed onto my shoulder and pulled me back with him into the crowd. His voice was low in my mind as he told me our ship was surrounded by armed creatures. I sighed, trying to think of a plan.

Then I had the worst one ever and knew that meant it was my best shot.

I looked around for Row, finding her close behind me, "Row, go with Speak to the mountains up ahead. You'll have to steal... rather, borrow a speeder to get there. Protect him, no matter what. I'll pick you both up in the ship there."

Speak disagreed, said we could face our foes together. 

I rolled my eyes, "Right, yeah. You fight now? No, you don't. So, do as I'm asking, okay? But, first... Speak, do you have it? Do you have the weapon?"

Speak reached into his robe and removed the odd lightsaber from his belt. He held it out to me and I hesitated to touch it again, but soon it was in my hand. I examined it for a moment before tucking it into my cloak. 

Speak told me to be careful. He told me to hold onto him. I knew what he meant; he didn't want me to lose myself to my anger. Sometimes when I'm in a fight, I feel overcome with an intense hatred, a darkness that's hard to pull myself out of. I don't understand it enough to be able to resist it - my anger makes me stronger in battle. Why not utilize it?

"I'll see you soon, Speak. Be ready to board." I wanted to give him a comforting grin, but it never came. As he weaved through the crowd in search of a speeder with Row, I removed my hood and faced my ship, as well as the dozen creatures standing around it with their blasters and stun guns in hand.


	8. The Darkness

As I approached my ship, Lenny hopped over to me - he was just as frantic as he was earlier. He placed himself between me and the group surrounding my ship, "Di'Lora, you do not have clearance to the docks!"

"But I have to get inside of my ship." 

Lenny turned his head slowly towards my ship, gulping, "You will not get inside of your ship."

I got down on one knee and looked Lenny square in his tiny eyes. I took deep, even breaths before speaking, "You will leave this docking area at once and allow me to go to my ship."

It took a parsec too long, but eventually Lenny began hopping away and talking amongst himself, "I go now. I am going now."

Once I was back on my feet, I took several steps forward, exchanging looks with all twelve beings before me. They all seemed uninterested in me and a few seemed to be peaking over my shoulder. They were looking for Speak and realizing that he wasn't coming.

"I suggest you all go. I don't have what you're looking for." I proclaimed arrogantly and took one more step forward.

One of them was holding a tracking fob and he lifted it up towards me. Curiousity danced in his eyes as he looked from me and then back to the fob, "She doesn't look like a man..." another said, "and she can speak."

I stared at them all for a moment as they spouted questions amongst themselves, then I cursed under my breath; seeing Speak's silhouette floating above the puck made this even more real and frightening. The only thing giving me any comfort was feeling the weight of the weapon under my cloak.

A creature began hitting his fob, probably thinking that it was malfunctioning, "This is his ship, I know that it is."

A man standing in the center of them all looked me up and down. His jet black hair was slicked back and his clothes were dirty and tattered. He stared into my eyes as his lips spread into a smile, "Di'Lora?"

I nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

He stepped forward, a few of the others moved with him, "I'm Mavroth. This is my crew. And you... you're going to tell us where Speak is hiding."

I took a step to him, keeping my eyes on his, "Is that so?"

The smile he had etched on his face was nauseating, "Yes, I'm trying to work on a decent reputation, you see? When I capture this man, and I will, then I will be highly sought after by employers. Riches will soon follow."

Again, I nodded, but now I moved my eyes down to his feet, "You're willing to die for a solid reputation. How admirable. But, just out of curiosity, when you die, which you will, what will happen to your men?"

Mavroth tossed a glance behind his shoulder, then bore his eyes back into mine before looking my entire body over once more, "They would avenge my death."

I called one of my daggers to my hand and pointed it towards them, "Who will avenge theirs?"

Mavroth laughed at me in the most abnoxious way. He lost balance and was wobbling back and forth with his hand over his heart. Then he pointed at me, laughing out his words, "You think you can take on all of us... with a tiny knife?"

Then his crew started laughing at me, one of them shouting out, "I bet she couldn't win a fight against a child!"

"Come now, Di'Lora." Mavroth waved me to his ship, "Joke time is over. If you don't tell us where he is, then we'll have no use for you. Your death will be slow and painful and we will find on our own."

My dagger flew from my outstretched hand and stabbed the chest of the man who spoke before Mavroth. I allowed him to pull the dagger out himself before calling it back to me. Everyone around watched as he fell face first into the ground.

Now I decided to share my own smile with them, "I prefer quick deaths."

Mavroth reached for my wrist, but I quickly kicked him in the gut and watched him fall to his back. His men didn't move as I called my second dagger to my hand.

Mavroth looked around at his men and shouted, "What are you lot waiting for? Kill her!"

I took my fighting stance as the dozen of them ran towards me. Clubs were swung which I easily dodged, laser blasts were fired which I easily deflected and sent back to the one who shot them. One after the other I sliced through, their necks, their eyes, anything I could. Few actually got a hit at me, one good enough to throw me off balance and that split second allowed one man to punch me across my face. Blood poured in my mouth. 

"We'll do worse to your partner!" A creature shouted before throwing a spear towards me. I ducked and it flew over my head. I tossed my dagger far away towards him and watch it puncture his neck, he fell to his knees. Too much was happening and I couldn't sense my dagger to call it back into my hand. 

I punched and kicked when necessary and sliced away others when I could. But I didn't notice Mavroth had found his way behind me. He stole my dagger from my hand and stabbed it into my shoulder. I screamed out in pain, reaching my other hand out to a man running towards me and caught him mid-run. I raised him into the air and threw him into the water behind my ship. I tried to pull my dagger from my shoulder, but couldn't; it wasn't within my reach. More blasts came, one grazing my leg, then another fist hit my face. 

Soon, I was on my knees. The remainder of the men were circling me, waiting for orders. Were they really going to kill me? Would I really die here like this? 

"One more chance." Mavroth spoke behind me. 

I was hunched over, hugging myself, thinking of Speak being in my position instead. I needed my fear, I needed my anger. I felt the darkness inside of me begging for attention, but still, I did what I could to ignore it.

That's when my hand reached for the hilt and I pulled it from my cloak, looking at the switch which would ignite it. I'd never fought with anything like it before, nor did I know what it could actually do.

Slowly, I met my physical pain and moved through it, rising to my feet. I turned to face Mavroth and held the hilt out, my thumb resting on the switch.

"I will... tell you nothing." Blood spewed from my mouth as I spoke through clenched teeth. 

Mavroth looked at the lightsaber and gasped. He took a step back and it was the first time I saw worry on his face. I smiled, pleased with his concern, and flipped the switch. 

But... nothing happened. 

I gasped and looked at the hilt, trying to make it turn on. I hit it a few times and cursed loudly, shaking it.

They all laughed at me and Mavroth folded his arms over his chest, walking to me and then placed his lips close to my ear, "Speak will die soon and be with you."

The darkness was calling to me once again. I placed the hilt back inside of my cloak and sighed, listening to what was inside of me. I envisioned doing horrible things to these men, even any bystanders who happen to walk by. I saw myself killing them all, one by one, feeding off their fears of dying only to make it a reality. I saw myself reverting back to my old ways of dominance and power. 

I saw myself never coming out of the hunger for it all ever again if I did succumb to it.

And then I heard Speak, loud and clear in my mind, telling me he was proud of me for not letting myself go.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I believe I've found the man you are all looking for." I heard Row say in her motherly voice. We all looked to her, and standing behind her with his wrists bound was Speak - he didn't even have his hood on.

"What in the actual, ever loving hell?" I was wide eyed and spit a mouthful of blood on the ground. Did the mechanic sabotage my droid?

All the men lifted their pucks and checked to make sure that it was the man in question, and Mavroth chuckled, "A nanny droid found the current most difficult bounty? What has this galaxy come to?"

I looked at Speak with disbelief. He grinned very slightly and told me I should consider upsetting Row.

"Ohhhh." I exhaled and nodded, "How convenient."

"What?" Mavroth put his puck back in his pocket and turned to me.

I shrugged, even though it caused me a great deal of pain to do so, "Convenient for you, of course. You would have never beaten me. You're weak, and if I'm being honest, you're a bit stupid."

It didn't take a parsec for Mavroth to slap me across the face like I'm some sort of worthless filth. I shook off the pain and turned to Row, watching the lights in her head turn red.

"Threat detected." Row announced and took one long stride to Mavroth. Without another word spoken by anyone, Row lifted her arm and a blast shot from it, hitting Mavroth square in his face. Row shoved his body out of her way and stood in front of me, "Who did this to you, my dear?"

I nodded towards two of the other men. Row didn't even have to face them; two more blasts were shot and they were direct hits. 

"Has the threat been fully eliminated?" 

I looked to my other side and smiled at the others, shaking my head, "No, Row, it sure hasn't. And I'm told they will avenge their leader whom you just killed."

The men were shaking, but holding their position. Row turned to them and walked slowly. They shot at her, but the blasts did nothing but scuff her up a bit. She grabbed one of their blasters and began swinging it, knocking the men down before shooting them. Some she grabbed by their arms and basically tore apart. Even the ones who tried to flee didn't make it.

As Row finished off the rest, Speak removed his restraints and sprinted to me, scooping me up in his arms and moved to the ship. He noticed my shoulder, and I remembered I had lost a dagger. We passed the body it was lunged in and I held my hand out for it, grasping it tightly. 

Speak was furious, scolding me for thinking I could do that alone. Scolding himself for letting me try. He looked at my face, pain taking over his emotions. He told me to call Row so we could leave once the ramp hit the ground.

I saw that she had one man by his ankles, raised up in the air as he yelled for help - he seemed to be the last left. 

"Row! Time to go!" I shouted and her head spun in my direction. She dropped the man on his head and moved towards the ship. 

Once we were safely boarded and the ramp was closed, Row took to the pilot's seat and the ship eased into the sky. We flew out of the atmosphere and Row punched it into a hyperspace lane. 

"Row, where are we going?" I asked as Speak moved towards my room.

"Nevarro, per Speak's request."

I squinted my eyes at him but he gave no explanation. He walked into my room with me still in his arms and closed the door behind us.


	9. The Fear

Speak was tending to my wounds. First, he saw to the dagger wedged in my shoulder blade. Removing it hurt worse than when it was stabbed into me, and the stitches hurt even worse than that. I was biting into my cloak the whole time, blinking away tears, trying to listen for anything Speak was thinking, but he let no thoughts enter my head.

Then, he inspected my face, spraying medicine in the open gashes from the punches I took, and now, he's examining my leg which the laser hit.

"You know, the lightsaber doesn't even work." I say casually. He doesn't look up at me. A groan emerges from my throat and I feel uneasy. He's so cold to me right now, so... quiet. 

"Would you say something?" I nearly yell it.

This time, he does look at me and raises his eyebrows. He reminds me that he can't talk.

I'm annoyed, "Okay. Would you transmit your inner thoughts into my mind via our shared connection?"

Nothing. He went back to checking out my injuries.

I watched him looking me over intently, searching for anything else that may need attention. Once he was finished with my leg, he pulled my pants back down over it and stood up. 

We stared at each other in complete silence. His eyes were red, I could tell he was fighting back tears. 

"I'm..." I began, tossing my cloak to the side, wearing only a sleeveless, dark colored shirt, "I'm... ummm..."

He stopped me, waving his hands and shaking his head, telling me not to say anything. 

"But you're mad at me. I don't want you to be mad at me."

He assured me that he wasn't mad at me, but at himself. He wished he didn't choose to listen to my orders of him fleeing so quickly. He was only glad that he realized soon enough why I thought of the plan to begin with. But still, him realizing that wasn't a good thing for me, because he told me I needed to stop valuing his life more than I do mine.

I shook my head, speaking simply, "You're all I have."

Once again, he fell on his knees before me, but this time he hugged me. His head rested on my lap and his arms wrapped around my back. He asked me what he would have left if something happened to me. He questioned if I understood that I am the same to him as he is to me. 

I laid my head on top of his, smelling his hair and feeling a rush of warmth take over my body. 

He was crying. It was a quiet, hidden thing, and something he very rarely does. I lifted my head and placed my hands on his head gently, bringing his face into my view. I wiped his tears away and shook my head, "I am not worthy of this sort of emotion, Speak."

He placed his hand gently on my cheek and closed his eyes, placing images in my head. I saw myself on the ground, hunched over, blood dripping from my face onto the ground. Not only did I see what Speak saw, I felt what he felt. He was angry, he was upset, and above all else, he was afraid. Then, there was a vision of sorts, a future he fears is what he called it. He is in this vision, holding my lifeless body. There, though, he is not angry or upset or afraid - he is empty. He is lost. He is heartbroken and alone.

When his eyes open up again, he sighed and shook his head, wishing he could tell me with his own voice what he feels for me. He wishes he could, somehow, explain it better or even show it accurately. 

But the truth is, I already know how he feels about me. I just have a hard time believing it. I am not the lovable sort of woman. I'm not the kind that will settle down and have children, I'm not the kind that can take proper care of a husband and love him how he needs a wife to love him. 

I decide to be vulnerable and cry with him, "I'm trying to be... better, Speak. I'm trying. But this life? This recklessness and chaos? It's all I know."

His fingers trail up my arm and he nods. He doesn't want me to change for him, he just wants me to stay with him until we're old enough to die by natural causes. He wants me to live, and is growing tired of seeing me nearly die. 

His greatest fear is having to carry on in a galaxy where I don't exist, and again this baffles me, but again it holds true for me as well.

I lean down and place my lips softly to his. He returns this gester, bringing his hand to the back on my neck and presses me into him. His lips basically fight with mine and I've no problems with it at all.

In his mind, he says my name. He pleads for me. And in the middle of our aggressive kisses, like a distant whisper, he tells me what he wants from me now and the request is filled with desperation and longing. 

He thought he was going to lose me today, but he didn't. And now he wants to show me just how much that means to him. 

I pull away from him and look at his flushed face. All I can do is smile. Despite my pain, I know I'm more than willing to take him up on that offer.

He plays with the hem of my shirt as his eyes stay on my lips. I put my hands on his and guide them to my bare skin. He tenses, then relaxes. 

In the months that I've known him, we've never been in a position like this with one another. Even if I've thought of it hundreds of times, I'd have never known how to initiate it. There's been short, sweet kisses, hugs, and the occasional hand holding, but nothing of this magnitude. 

And then, my mouth opens and I say the words without a second thought, "Speak, I'm in love with you."

He freezes and pulls his hands out from under my shirt. I watch as he rises to his feet and looks down at me. He places his hand under my chin and asks me to say it again. 

"I'm in love with you." It comes out in a whisper, so quiet I can hardly hear it. 

He says my name, my full name, before telling me that he loves me as well. He removes his robe, but hesitates to remove anything else. He thinks of the scars on his body and wonders how badly it will effect the moment. 

"I'm literally covered in dry blood and bandages." I roll my eyes, and stand up in front of him, "You don't have to hide anything from me, okay?"

He doesn't answer. He just kisses me again.

For those moments with him, I lost myself completely, and it was in a way I would be fine to never come back out of. 

And yet I have to. Later on, when he falls asleep and my head is rested on his bare chest, my fears and the realness of them come back to me.

We still have the lightsaber. There's still a bounty out for him. V will come for us. And for some reason, Speak has suggested we go to Nevarro? Whatever his intention with the weapon is, is beyond me.

I slip away from him quietly, picking his robe up off the ground and put it on. I exit my room and head for the cockpit. 

Row notices me, "May I help you with anything, my dear?"

I punch a few keys on the dashboard, "I need you to send a message to the Council. Tell them it is a message for their Peacekeeper."

Row pauses and appears to be processing information. Then she says, "The current Council has two Peacekeepers. Which one is the message for?"

"The first one? I think?" I lean back in my chair, searching my mind, wishing I'd paid more attention to politics, "Whichever one killed the first Supreme Leader of the First Order."

Row begins thinking again, then quickly begins punching in access codes and transmission requests before a hologram of a woman appears before me, her name written beneath it which rings no bells in my mind. 

I shrug, "Sure, why not."

"She is the current Jedi, or as you say Peacekeeper, of the Council. There seems to be nothing halting a message going directly to her. You will not have to seek Council permission to contact her."

"Odd. I thought she was important. But, okay, help me with the transmitter, will you?" I say and pat Row on the head as I move to the corridor. 

She follows behind me, preparing the holomessage recorder. 

"When the light turns green, you may begin."

I stared at the flashing red light, going over what I want to say in my head. But all too soon the light flashes green. It takes me a moment to begin, "Hello, my name is Dimley Di'Lora. If my name sounds familiar to you, it is because I am a wanted fugitive within the Core worlds. I beg you not to mention this to the Council or I will be arrested, but even still it is a chance I'm willing to take. My partner has a bounty out for him by a potential warlord here in the outer-rim who will only withdraw the bounty if I deliver him a weapon which I fear he does not need. The weapon is a lightsaber that belonged to Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and it is in my possession. I need to be sure this item is given to someone trustworthy and someone who has already once defeated similar events. Please reach out to me whenever you can - my droid will send you our coordinates when you do." I pause, my eyes glued to the green light ahead of me as a single tear rolls down my cheek, "Please, Rey... I can't lose him."

I nod to Row and she turns off the recorder, "I will send it immediately."

"Thank you." I respond, staring blankly ahead, wondering if this was really the right thing to do.


	10. The Connection

I'd fallen asleep in the co-pilot chair, wearing nothing but Speak's robe and my undergarments. It was a solid, dreamless sleep that passed quickly and I was woken up by gentle shakes and a concerned look on Speak's face. 

We landed on Nevarro some time ago, but Speak let me sleep through to midday. No words were exchanged from either of us as I dressed in my usual attire - black pants, heavy boots and a fresh dark cloak. My cloak from yesterday needed desperate cleaning. 

Soon, we strolled down the busy streets of the town. Children ran around, laughing and playing, women scattered about supervising them as they themselves folded clothes and gossiped. There were men tending to their speeders or gardens, sweat already dripping from their foreheads. 

It was nice here, though I've heard it wasn't always like this. Bounty hunters used to frequent this location for work, but those days seem long gone. 

Speak was unreadable as he walked along, Row and I close behind him. I already knew there was no point in asking him what we were doing, which also meant there was hardly a reason to bring up our... encounter last night.

"You seem sad, my dear. Is there something I can do for you?" Row asked, taking in the sites. She seemed focused mostly on the kids and I knew that was just because of how she's made. It wouldn't surprise me if she went over to play with them. I know she's a droid and that droids don't have emotion, but I couldn't help but wonder if she missed her past life tending to actual children. 

I forced a smile and shook my head, noting that Speak turned and looked at me briefly.

We carried on, no one giving us a second glance, not even with the consideration of my beat up face and stiff walk.

Then Speak turned down an alley filled with small houses which were all connected to one another. 

I leaned into Row and whispered, hoping Speak wouldn't hear me, "Did he tell you why we're here?"

"No. He quickly input the coordinates before we came to your rescue. You know I cannot hear him."

I winced at her words - I hate having to be rescued. I can handle myself... at least, I used to be able to. 

I hadn't noticed that Speak stopped walking and I ran into him. I mumbled a quick apology and his voice came to me for the first time today, saying that we were here. He knocked on the door beside us and I stared at it, waiting for it to open. 

A man in bright, multicolored robes with long, white braided hair emerged from inside. His arms were held open wide and a smile was plastered on his face. 

If I wasn't unnerved before, I definitely was now.

"Hello, weary travelers from afar, no doubt! I was expecting you, of course! Welcome to my home!" The old man gestured inside. We all walked in, silent, and I kept my eyes on the back of Speak's head. 

Once the door was closed behind us, the man continued, "I am Wotzoo, but I assume you already know this. It's why you're here, afterall!"

The name meant as much to me as the odd symbols painted on the walls, shiny rocks and old books scattered about. Speak instructed me to introduce ourselves. 

"Oh, uhh," I faced Wotzoo, "This is Speak, Row and I'm Dimley."

Wotzoo cupped his hands together, still smiling as he examined each of us. Then he sighed and came forward just enough to place his hands on my shoulders, "You're the one, aren't you?"

My eyes met Speak's, he told me to say yes. So, I shrugged. Close enough. 

Wotzoo brushed passed me and sat down at a star shaped, wooden table - it had specks of light flashing on each corner and some unfamiliar words carved into it. 

My mouth gaped open and I held a finger up to Wotzoo. I grabbed Speak by his arm, pulled him into the other room, my voice shaking with irritation, "A reading? Really? Really!?"

Speak informed me that Wotzoo was a credible fortune teller and that we were here to seek guidance pertaining to our next move with the weapon. 

"Did you encounter someone selling spice on Batuu, Speak?" I was whisper-yelling, "This is the dumbest idea any of us could have come up with!"

I nearly confessed my idea to message the Peacekeeper, but luckily stopped myself. In comparison, though, my idea was incredibly reasonable.

Speak questioned the harm in giving it a try. He still didn't want to go to the Council just yet and he didn't want to give the weapon to V. He even went as far as to say that the Force chose me to wield the lightsaber and it could very well rightfully belong to me now. 

My eye started twitching. 

Row made her way to us. I was grateful to have someone else to look at as she basically sang her words, "Dimley I have wonderful news! The mighty Wotzoo has just informed me that I am to have a child!"

Slowly, I returned my eyes to Speak. All he even told me was to congratulate Row for him. 

My irritation was replaced with fumes of pure anger, "I'm not keeping the weapon. I'll sit with the loon and listen to his gibberish, but I'm not keeping it. You will only be safe if I don't have it! It's part of a history much bigger than what I've ever come from and I've not been chosen by the Force for anything! You have lost your mind, Speak. Completely."

I made my dramatic exit and stomped over to the table Wotzoo was patiently placed at. He pointed at the chair across from him and I fell into it, slouching over with my arms crossed.

Wotzoo nodded, "You're flustered. You don't believe in my gift."

"I'll give you minor credit for getting that right." My voice cracked.

Speak and Row were soon standing behind me, but I ignored their presence as best I could. Wotzoo reached beneath him and pulled out a white cloth, which was soon spread out in the center of the table. He placed his palms up over the cloth, his fingers stretched out.

"Give me your hands, please." 

I was reluctant at first, but knew the quicker I played along, the quicker we could leave. I gave him my hands and he closed his eyes. 

"Relax." He said, taking deep breaths. I tried, mimicking his breathing. He nodded slowly, gripping tighter to my hands, "You have something you do not want... something you wish to be rid of..."

My body relaxed, as if I was involuntarily accepting what was happening. 

"Tell me, truthfully, why you do not want what you have."

The lights on the table started to burn brighter when I spoke, "It's dangerous."

"But you love danger. You enjoy reckless adventures." Wotzoo opened his eyes now and pulled his hands out from under mine, "Your past is clear to me - an orphan from a rotting world, both of your parents murdered by their master. They did not conform to his ways, so he thought that you would if you did not have them around to raise you. But, you rebelled and escaped..."

"Ok, yeah, I know." I stopped him, my hand waving in the air, "I have a sad backstory, but it's done now."

"Is it?" Wotzoo's head tilted to the side, "this thing that you have, it connects you to your past, doesn't it?"

The past that he was referring was something Speak didn't know about - my parents and their master and where I really escaped from. I'd hidden all of that pretty deep. And Wotzoo was right about all of it, which was unsettling. I stared at him, straight faced. I genuinely didn't want to hear anymore. 

"Your master..." Wotzoo whispered, shuttering, "frightening individual he was. We'll move forward to your future now. It's very cloudy in my minds eyes, so to hopefully discover what's needed... this burden of yours - what is it? Is it physical? Material? Do you have it?"

Before I could answer, Speak moved beside me and placed the lightsaber on the white cloth. I looked at it, remembering how I felt when I first touched it.

Wotzoo's face lit up, "Oh, my! Wherever did you acquire such a thing? I know much of this weapon."

"You do?"

"Of course." He guided his hand over the black hilt, though he never actually touched it, "This belonged to none other than Kylo Ren. Many lives were taken by the might of this instrument. Lightsabers are fascinating things; they've existed for centuries, wielded by the Jedi and the Sith. From what I've learned during my very long life, there is life placed inside each hilt, either whole or broken. Did it call to you?"

I allowed myself to fully examine the thing as I responded, "No. I called out to it."

"And it accepted you. Did it tell you anything when you retrieved it?"

Again my mind went to the strange vision I had, accompanied by the extreme sadness and loneliness. I hung my head, "Sort of, I guess."

Wotzoo seemed to be playing with his long braid absentmindedly. His eyes were gleaming, "Hold it in both of your hands, see if there's anything else it needs to show you."

"I'd rather not." 

Speak said my name, kindly asked me to at least try. I rolled my eyes and leaned on the table, moving both of my hands to hover over the weapon. 

"Close your eyes now." Wotzoo instructed and I obliged, "Breathe in and out slowly. Concentrate on the energy surrounding the weapon, listen to it. Fall away from everything else around you and focus only on this lightsaber."

It took me a moment to tame my frustration enough to sense this life within the hilt Wotzoo mentioned. The more I focused on just that particular pulse of energy, the world around me disappeared. There were so many new, strange voices in my head, but no images. It was total darkness filled with noise - screams, cries, pleads. The voice of a child calling for its mother. The voice of a boy yelling at his master. The voice of a man apologizing to his father.

Then the images came. First there was a gloomy, tall creature in golden robes; he was laughing, mocking someone. He looked so similar, if not nearly identical, to someone I know. The one I'm trying to run from. Then there was a woman... Rey? She came and went through many of the images. There was a mask shattered and then remade, red rooms, dark rooms, lightening...

"I know what I have to do." The male voice said, his face appearing vaguely to me, but he was lying. He was called so many horrible things - pathetic, a monster, weak. He fought to meet expectations all of these people had for him, never succeeding. So much sadness, such unbearable loneliness and pain. He was so lost and confused and misguided. So unsure, unsafe and unhappy. So... afraid.

Then he vanishes and it's black again in my mind. His voice lingers, "I'm not dead. He will find me. He will destroy everything."

I remember him telling me this the first time, but I'd forgotten about it. 

"Find me." He said again and more images pooled into my mind. A cave, an ocean, mountains, endless stars... it all came in a flash, "Dimley..."

It was the last thing I heard before opening my eyes, and then a name left my lips as I came out of the vision.

"Ben."

I felt different. I felt strange. 

Vulnerable. 

It was as if I had just been stripped of my own identity and given someone else's.

Wotzoo was staring at me. At some point, the lightsaber made way to my hands; I was holding tightly to it. Speak was still beside me, watching, waiting. I brought the lightsaber closer to my face, inspecting it. There was a reason for me to have it. There was a reason V chose me for the job. But even with the reasons obvious to me, I felt no better about it. 

"I'll take my payment at the door." Wotzoo patted a beat on the table before he rose to his feet, "I'll show you all out."

But I didn't move. I couldn't. The weapon was so heavy in my hands, a burden not only to me but also to Kylo Ren. Though there were still many questions surrounding him, I knew him quite well for a man I'd never even laid eyes on.

Speak was still staring at me, his eyes moving like he wanted to ask me something, but he never did and I said nothing. 

I stood up and clipped the hilt to my pants. We all followed Wotzoo to the door and he refused to open it for us or even let is try to do it ourselves until Speak dropped credits in his hand. 

"Have a marvelous day, and an even greater future!" Wotzoo exclaimed, most likely saying that to all his customers after their readings. Soon we were all outside and his door shut tight behind us.

Row spoke first, "Though I'm unsure what happened in there, it seemed unnecessary."

I sighed, "We need to get back to the ship and chart some planets. There's one I need to find... one we need to go to, I think."

I lead the way now, moving quickly. Speak was being unbearably quiet and honestly I felt as if I owed him an apology. 

"Hey, Row." I stopped walking and pointed at the kids ahead, "Since you're going to be a mother soon, why not go observe the children's behavior. I'm sure they're much different now than they were when you were created."

Row was already moving her robotic parts as quickly as she could before she responded to me, "If you insist."

Speak was beside me soon enough, his eyes squinting; if he had the capability, he would be burning a hole through my skull right now. 

"I know, I know. I owe you an apology." I patted his arm, "It might have been traumatizing, but it was still informative. I also may still have no idea what my next move should be or how to go about my next move if I did know for certain what is was, but..."

Speak was shaking his head profusely and took one long step in front of me, his face close to mine. Both of his hands gently rest on my shoulders and he just... stared at me. 

"What? Just tell me. Just brag about how you told me so and all that." I halfheartedly laughed. 

His arms fell to his side. He began trembling, moving his lips, breathing out sounds that had no clear meaning. He was trying desperately to say something outloud. 

"Speak?" I tried to move to him but he backed away, sighing heavily, moving his lips still.

I turned away from him, thinking back to how I had felt so odd coming out of the vision. Is it possible that, because of connecting with the stranger the way I had, the original owner of the lightsaber, I lost my connection to Speak?

I could sense his frustrations and sadness, I could guess what he was trying to say, and I could read the energy around him just as I could anyone and anything else. But his voice, the voice that had a home in my mind so dominant that it could have passed as my own, wasn't there anymore. That spot was now gone - I couldn't find it anywhere. 

I tried. I tried to find it, tried to dig it out, but even when I heard him for the very first time, it was effortless. I didn't really know what to do to find it. 

When I was facing him again, he had his hood on and his head down. I placed my finger under his chin and brought his tearful eyes up to mine. 

"I can't hear you." I whispered, moving my hand to his cheek. I was aware he probably already knew this, but he couldn't tell me himself so it felt right to confirm it. "We'll figure this out, we'll find a way. We'll fix it."

He was unmoved and his emotions unchanged. Whatever he wanted to say about all of it was lost in his own mind.


	11. The Peacekeeper

Speak and I sat on opposite ends of a circular fountain. I was unsure what he was doing to preoccupy his mind, but I chose to watch Row interact with the children - they were decorating her with ribbons and bows. 

"My dear," she called to me, her arms stretched above her head, "look at me! Isn't it marvelous?"

The children laughed and Row complimented their work. I couldn't help but to smile. 

There was one moment where Row seemed to be ignoring the children, but I knew what she was doing. The lights on her head were flickering yellow and blue, which usually meant she was processing new data or something along those lines. She really seemed to be soaking in all the attention.

Even if it brought me joy seeing my droid so at home here, it also made me sad. This is the life she was programmed as opposed to the life I've shoved her in. If I wasn't so selfish with her, I'd suggest she stay here. All things considered, I just couldn't do that. Not now. 

I glanced over at Speak; he hadn't yet moved. As far as I could tell, he was twiddling his thumbs, hiding inside of his hood. He faced the gardens where the men were pulling up their freshly grown crops, a few young boys lending a helping hand. It wasn't ignorant to believe that Speak was thinking of a life his father wasn't kind enough to give him. It was something that I couldn't even bless him with.

Or could I? If this sort of environment was something my droid and my partner wanted, could I not sacrifice the life I've known to give it to them? Would I not get bored here one day?

There was a slight vibration beneath my feet, that quickly changed into obvious shaking. Behind me, I heard the sound of an extremely large engine, most likely belonging to a huge ship. 

I turned around and immediately saw the source of the disturbance; a mock-Imperial cruiser was landing in a field just a few yards behind my ship. I knew without question who it was - Caine found us... and he brought an army this time.

"Row!" I yelled, "Get the kids and their parents inside! Everyone, take shelter!"

The calm, relaxing day was gone now. Everyone ran frantic to their homes, gathering their belongings and loved ones as they went. The shop owners closed their doors, the mothers ran off to hide with their children. I ran over to Speak; he was standing tall, looking at the ship with disgust. 

Something felt off about him - he didn't come across as his usual calm, optimistic self. Speak was angry and it wasn't the sort I'd sensed from him before. 

Row finished ensuring all the children were safe before she came to my side. 

I looked up at her, "Threat detected."

Her lights turned red and her blasters came out, "I'm prepared to eliminate it."

Speak placed his hand in front of me. I wasn't sure what he was asking of me, and he was aware of my confusion. He pointed down at my boots, then held his hand out again.

"You want my dagger?" I asked, excited and worried at the same time. 

He nodded.

I retrieved them both and handed him one, keeping the other for myself. To this, he shook his head, gesturing for the other as well.

"Well, what am I going to use!?" I yelled.

The entrance of the ship slid open and behind the door stood Caine. It was hard to make out his expression from the distance we stood. 

But what wasn't hard to see was the dozens of soldiers coming up behind him and filing out in front of the ship. The swamp peasants, with their faded eyes and peeling skin. They looked like science experiments gone wrong, all wearing thin armor over their strange colored flesh. If I could describe them in the simplest way, I'd say they looked like living corpses.

Speak called my other dagger to his hand and moved quickly towards Caine and his army. 

"WHAT DO I USE!?" I yelled once again, beginning to panic. 

Row followed behind Speak, her arms pointed in front of her. I looked around for anything, a stick or maybe even a rock, but had no luck. As I was looking down, I caught sight of the hilt. I unclipped it and held it in front of my face.

"Alright, listen here, glowstick--" I was saying until I heard shrieks. Speak was... fighting. He was slashing through the creatures like their lives meant nothing, giving them no time to defend themselves. I couldn't let my shock get the better of me. I darted through the narrow street and joined in the fight, utilizing the Force around me to throw a handful of creatures high in the air so that their fall was fatal. 

I was afraid to flip the switch on the lightsaber - afraid that it would once again refuse to power on, afraid I would become a liability, afraid Speak and Row would face their ending and I'd have been no help in trying to prevent it. My fears were strong and desperate.

A creature ran at me with a giant club raised above his head. I yelped and held the hilt straight ahead with both of my hands, flipping the switch.

Three red beams burst from the hilt, one long one and two shorter ones from the smaller ports. The long one impaled the creature and it fell to the ground. I was mesmerized by the red light and it's power. 

My eyes met Speak's for only a moment, but I could have sworn he was smiling at me. 

"Well, okay then." I said to the saber, as if it was something normal to talk to. It was heavy and awkward for me to use, but even still, I went further into the hoard and sliced away. There was no mercy with this thing; it went straight through whoever I hit with it nearly effortlessly. 

"Get that weapon from the girl!" Caine screamed from the ship and all eyes were on me now. I was being bombarded by enemies, and my injuries from the day before were already slowing me down. Speak and Row were both trying to get to me, killing whoever was in their path, but it would take too long for them to reach me. 

I swung and stabbed without really even paying attention, attempting to clear enough of the creatures out to at least bolt from the center of it all. 

Suddenly, it grew darker out; the sun was being blocked by... something. From what I could tell strictly based on my peripheral vision, it was another ship. There were more? 

I knelt down quickly and screamed out, knocking the first few rows of creatures back which cleared a few feet around every side of me. It bought me enough time to get a better grip on the lightsaber, but I simply didn't know how to use it.

Someone fell from the ship above and landed smoothly in front of me. All I saw was their back and the dark grey outfit they were wearing. Their hair was down, brown and shoulder length, and it didn't take me long to realize it was a woman. The creatures were beginning to swarm again, and this woman unclipped something from her belt... a hilt? Another lightsaber?

Yeah, another lightsaber.

A single yellow beam glowed before me and she began fighting off the army. Unlike me, she knew how to use her lightsaber, swinging it around and attacking the others with such grace it almost looked beautiful. 

I carried on with my sloppy attacks, growing tired quickly, my shoulder begging me to stop. 

"Dimley, I am here." I heard Row say behind me, followed by the sound of her blasters.

"Got eyes on Speak?" I asked, barely hitting my target. 

"He's okay! Handling himself well!" The woman shouted at me over the noise, taking out two creatures at once. 

Speak was throwing the daggers like boomerangs, each throw hitting his target before returning back to him.

The ship overhead began to lower, winds blowing a lot of us back. The ramp opened up and a giant wookie stood on it, firing something into the crowd. Soon, the ramp was close enough to jump onto if one could get a running start first. 

"Get onboard!" The woman yelled, killing another handful of creatures. 

"You heard her!" I directed my words to Row and she immediately flew up to the ship, flames coming out from under her. She was soon beside the wookie, shooting right along side of him. 

"Speak! Go!" I tried getting closer to him, but I kept getting pulled back. He did hear me, though. He observed the ramp before holding his hand out in front of him. He threw a bunch of creatures to the side, clearing himself a path to run and jump. I don't believe I'd ever been so attracted to him than I was in this moment. 

Speak laid across the bottom of the ramp and held his arm down for me. I turned the lightsaber off and did my best to jump up to him. A creature grabbed my leg and pulled me down. It sat on top of me and we began a tug-of-war over the hilt. 

"Let it go, you swamp peasant!" I said as if I genuinely thought hurting its feeling would make it go away.

The woman sliced her weapon through the creature's neck - its head falling to the ground a parsec before its body. She used her energy to throw the hoard back, which caused many of them to fall and knock into one another. 

"It's now or never." She said to me. I scrabbled to my feet and ran for Speak again, jumping up and this time, successfully grabbing on to his hand. 

The woman jumped on board next, running inside. Speak pulled me up and held tight to me as we followed her in. 

Once we were safe in the corridor, we both collapsed, panting. 

"Punch it, Chewie!" The woman shouted out, moving swiftly to the cockpit, giving us all no second thought. Row was beside herself, wandering around in a daze, trying to find something to do to be useful. 

Speak offered me my daggers back, his breathing loud and hard. I laughed, remembering how well he used them, "You can have them."

He shook his head and placed them in my lap, acting as if he was disgusted by them. I realized I that this was no laughing matter. Did he feel guilty for what he'd just used them for?

I stuck them back in my boots and took a deep breath. The ship left the atmosphere, but where we were being taken, I had no idea. 

Speak brushed a strand of my hair back and then took my hand in his. I wish more than anything that he could say something to me. 

"I need to know... are we okay? Me and you? Us? This? Last night?"

He smiled and nodded, giving my hand the softest kiss imaginable. It made me warm inside.

The woman came back and stood before us with her arms folded, "That was the biggest fight I've been in for a while now. I'm sorry about leaving your ship behind. My options seemed limited."

I shrugged, "It was a garbage dump. I'm more upset with the clothes I've lost now."

"We must send a cleaning crew to the planet to dispose of all those corpses!" Row wailed, "Think of those poor children!"

"I can do that, actually." The woman said to Row, "Thank you for getting back to me with your coordinates so quickly."

"I was following orders given to me by my dear child over there on the floor." Row said and took a bow. 

I waved, as if it wasn't obvious enough that I was the child. Speak grinned from ear to ear. 

"So," I held the hilt out now, feeling like I might actually miss it, "you're Rey, I'm assuming. Which means you've come for this."

Rey placed her hand over her heart and gasped for air. She remained focused on the hilt for several passing moments before finally saying, "In a way, yes, that's why I'm here. But you can put it away... I'm not going to take it from you."


	12. The Truth

I had been sitting up in a cot beside Speak while he slept when Rey entered the quarters and requested I see to her. Speak didn't move as I crossed over his body and when my feet hit the floor, I draped myself in a heavy blanket and went with Rey out of the room. 

We sat out in the corridor at the holochess table - her wookie friend Chewbacca was asleep in a cot on the other end of the room and Row was sitting silently in the cockpit.

It was very quiet. The ship was simply floating idle in the middle of deep space, surrounded by absolutely nothing. 

Rey sat across from me with a tired smile on her face, her voice coming out softly, "I have a few questions but I feel it's important to answer any of yours first."

I examined her face and it immediately hit me how opposite we both were to one another; her eyes were dark whereas mine are bright, her hair was short and brown whereas mine is long and nearly white. She stood taller than me and much more in shape - I'm short and thin, enough to make me appear incredibly weak. 

I look like a wet womp rat compared to this woman.

I shrug and opt to stare at my fingers, "my only question is, why did you come if you don't want the lightsaber?"

She swallowed, "I want to help you in any way I can, but-"

"Then take it. The only way you can help me is to take it. If V comes for you, a member of the Council, you'll have an army to protect you from him..." I thought about how capable she was in battle and laughed, "as if you need an army. All I have is myself, a droid, and my partner who just recently chose to actually fight during battle, for some reason."

"I sensed darkness in him as he fought. He was angry and saddened by whatever was motivating him to fight. The pain it caused him was heavy." Rey frowned, seeming to shrug it off, "I understood it, honestly. It's taken me quite a long time to learn to defend myself without utilizing the darkness... without giving in to it."

Rey radiated kindness and light, just like Speak does to me. Picturing darkness within either of them seems off. I couldn't defend her, but I could him, "Speak has no ounce of darkness inside of him. Whatever you sensed within him was not darkness. We've just hit a wall in our relationship, that's all. He's just a bit irritated, I think."

She sat thoughtfully for a moment and moved on, "I need you to tell me who's after you."

I leaned back on the cushion, taking in a deep breath as I gathered my racing thoughts, "I went to see to a job and it involved finding the lightsaber and bringing it to a man named Caine, who was going to bring it to a warlord named V. V runs the ruins of planet Rhyz - it's a small, poor, junkyard planet in the lesser regions of the outer rim. It's outside of all trading lanes as well as any hyperspace lanes. You have to fly blindly to even get to it. I believe V wants to harness the power inside of the weapon to rise his army in attempt to begin his claim on other planets. Would he get far? Doubtful. But there's still a possibility of him doing significant damage to other small worlds that are already repairing any damage done to them by the First Order and the Empire before it."

"I don't see how one weapon would give him the capability to do what you're suggesting. Lightsabers are powerful, sure, but it wouldn't give him much more of a reason to rise his army than whatever reason he has now. There's got to be... something else tied to it that he wants."

I saw a flicker of hope cross over her face. It was so brief, the way she relaxed and caught her breath. 

I spoke before I truly thought my words through, "Unless he thinks it will speak to him like it did me. Maybe... he wants... to find the person linked to the weapon."

"He's dead." Rey was sad now. She closed her eyes and sat on her hands, probably hoping I wouldn't see them shaking. 

I recalled the message I heard from the lightsaber, curious if it was something to share with her or not. But, seeing the way she was acting, I knew it was something to mention. 

"I don't think he's dead. I'm not sure how Force messages work or... whatever, but the lightsaber told me he wasn't dead."

There was that hope on her face again, only this time it stayed there, "The lightsaber told you?"

"You're going to think I'm insane." I laughed and ran my fingers through my hair. The blanket fell from around my shoulders and I felt a slight chill in the air, "I saw things and heard things when I touched the lightsaber - twice, actually. The first time, it was images of war and the voice of a man telling me I would end up alone like him, and that he wasn't dead. The second time, that same voice told me again that he wasn't dead and that someone would find him and destroy everything. That's... all I remember."

"I was right?" Rey was talking to herself now and looked over at the wookie, her hand over her heart. 

Then I sat upright, remembering something, "Oh! Right, he said my name as well. And... and I said a name. Ben."

We locked eyes and tears were forming in hers. She shook her head quickly, chills covering her arms large enough for me to notice them. 

Then she stood up and started pacing the floor, chewing on one of her fingernails while she mumbled a bunch of words so quickly that I wasn't able to pick up any of what she was saying.

"Rey, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Ben!" Her arms stretched out to her sides when she said the name, "He's alive. I knew it, I felt it and I ignored it because... I assumed I was wrong. I didn't want to be disappointed if I never found him, I didn't want to give myself false hope. I looked for a while, Dimley, believe me, I did. But I... I was afraid that... maybe he just didn't want me to find him. Or maybe he really was gone? I don't know. I watched him disappear, right there in front of me, I physically felt him slip out from between my fingers, so how? How is he alive? And where is he?"

I realized when she stopped talking that my mouth was gaping open. This woman... she... was passionate about this man and in a way I'd have never in a millennia guessed.

"You love him." I said it like it was a fact I was sure of, "You're not afraid that he's alive, you're... you're excited, relieved, a bit nervous but the good kind. I thought Kylo Ren was your enemy, I even thought you killed him."

Rey's face turned as red as the lightsaber. "He was my enemy, but he didn't die my enemy."

"He didn't die at all."

"Dimley, help me find him. Use the saber, see if you can find anymore clues."

I shot up to my feet, my hands waving small circles in the air, "You want me to help you find the fallen Supreme Leader of the First Order during a potential uprising? That's probably why V wants him - help taking over! Ren knows all about doing it, as far as I've heard. I'm not going to contribute to the one thing I'm trying to prevent from happening!"

Rey's hands balled into first, "Ben wouldn't contribute to an uprising, he would help us stop it."

I pulled the blanket back up around my shoulders, "I'm going to go to sleep now. Tomorrow, take me and my friends back to my ship, assuming it's still there, and I'll just... figure this out on my own. I'll..." 

I'll give the lightsaber to V.

That's what I wanted to say, but didn't. But, it's what I'm going to do. I'll turn it in, see about getting any of that reward money if it isn't too late and then... we'll hide in the mid rim somewhere. Maybe whatever war starts up won't find us.

"Please, hear me out." Rey was desperate, "I know it sounds stupid and irrational, considering who Kylo Ren was to a lot of people, but we won't be looking for Ren, we'll be looking for Ben Solo. Yes, they are the same person but at the same time... they're just not. Ren was a persona, a mask that Ben wore. He was conflicted between the light and the dark, feeling as if he belonged to neither side. But, we had a connection somehow. We were a Dyad in the Force. In a sense, I suppose we were bound to one another. He saved my life... twice, even once after I nearly killed him multiple times. He's just not what people believe him to be. Yes, he did horrible things, but... he didn't know that he had a choice. He was a slave to his master, but he's free now. He's not going to hurt anyone ever again."

It would have been easy to brush her plea off if it didn't sound like she was talking about me during so much of her spill. I groaned and gripped tightly to the blanket, "So, what do you propose we do?"

Rey relaxed, nodding, "I think we need to go to the source. We need to see to this V."

"Good luck not getting killed doing that."

"He'll have no reason to kill me if I'm delivering what he's after."

"The lightsaber? Dumb idea even thinking of bringing it near that planet. He'll get a hold of it and that'll be it."

"Not the lightsaber," she wanted to smile like she was a genius but she suppressed it, I could tell by the way her face was moving, "I bring him his bounty and the woman who was hiding it."

I fell back into the seat, "You're going to use me and Speak as bait? I'm going to vote no on that one. Any other ideas?"

"I just want to know why V wants the lightsaber, and if it really is to find Ben, why does he want Ben? What's the purpose? The motive?"

I knew what I could do and I hated myself for thinking of it so quickly. If I pitch my idea, Speak will have to learn the full truth about me and I won't even be able to know how he feels about it. I've got to figure out how to connect to him again. 

Of course, Rey did say that her and Ben are a Dyad or something. Maybe when I connected to Ben, I interfered with his connection with Rey, which messed up my own connection with Speak? Maybe, in some weird way, it all means something. Could it be possible that once Ben and Rey are reunited, once the Dyad is back together, my connection with Ben will leave and Speak will be able to talk to me again? 

It was damn sure worth a shot. I'd risk anything for the chance to hear his voice in my mind again. 

"Rey, I can get your information, if that's truly all you want is answers. I'm just going to need you to promise me that you will let nothing and no one hurt my partner."

"I promise." Rey whispered, listening intently to what I had to say. 

"I'll need my own ship or transport to go to Rhyz with Row. Speak stays with you. You'll keep your ship off world but within range in case I need to call for backup. I'll get your information."

"You made it sound like getting to V was a death sentence, now you make it sound easy."

"It's a death sentence for you, sure, but not me. V... he knows me. He knew my parents and... after their deaths, he basically raised me. He won't kill me - not without at least seeing to me first and even then, I'm sure I can sweet talk him into letting me go freely."

"And if he holds you?"

"Find Ben and come back for me. Speak will help you." I smiled, not thrilled about the idea of Speak being alone with her but it's clear she's spoken for.

Rey looked just past my head towards the room I had been in and sighed, "He won't like it, will he? Speak?"

"No. No he won't."


End file.
